


Take What You Can Get

by AwfulSummary_DecentStory



Series: Some Days Are Better Than Others. Some Are Worse. [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Mildly Dubious Consent, Other, Too Many Tags Will Spoil The Broth, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:35:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29471070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwfulSummary_DecentStory/pseuds/AwfulSummary_DecentStory
Summary: Byleth thinks Rhea's got some serious mommy energy.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Rhea
Series: Some Days Are Better Than Others. Some Are Worse. [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2181801
Kudos: 11





	Take What You Can Get

**Author's Note:**

> Figured I'd write something quick for Valentine's Day even though it's passed.

It's the first time in a long time that she's been overpowered, but maybe that's because she isn't pushing back as hard as she should. When Rhea steals her lips, she takes along with her a little sliver of unverbalized hope that perhaps her father had lied. That the grave he had shown her was a vacant one and that her real mother is someone close to her now, who could not risk it coming to light that she had birthed a child out of fear for that child's safety. Rhea takes that hope replaced with consternation and uses it to force her down on the bed.

Her body is rigid under Rhea's touch, still with a hand braced against the woman's shoulder in some vain attempt to hold her back, and all that strength is lost when she feels fingers begin to snake their way into the hem of her shorts. The archbishop collapses on top of her, the woman held up now with an elbow, the hand caught perusing the young teacher's body caught in a vice-like grip that would bruise any other.

Sothis. The image of the immaterial child deity-thing residing within her body pops into her mind, but she does not appear in reality. It makes sense that she would not. The girl's time reversing ability, while an incredible asset, suffers two massive hindrances: Sothis can only reverse time by a few minutes at most, and whenever she does, it leaves her incapacitated for days on end. It just so happens that now is one of those times.

"Rhea, I--my body...! I--" She tries to speak, to say something to stop things from going farther than they already have, because if she doesn't--

The cold pad of Rhea's thumb glossing over her lips is all it takes to quiet her. Rhea caresses her cheek, green eyes boring serenely into her own blue. She lets go of Rhea's wrist to shakily clasp the hand stroking her face.

"It's okay, dear one. I know. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

Rhea's hand, unimpeded, delves deeper. The bone-chillingly cold touch of the archbishop against her own feverishly hot skin makes her start. Rhea cups her, molds her to encourage the growth between her thighs. It's not an altogether new experience, this growth, but never has it come warranted by the hands of another. It's strange, and she doesn't know how to react to it, so she just stares dumbly up at the woman whose face grows nearer to her own.

"Sitri. You look so much like her."

Sitri. It's the name on the tombstone. Hearing it said in this moment is proof enough that her father hadn't lied; although, she already knew that as much as she wished otherwise.

Rhea pulls away from her after another kiss to her lips. She tilts her head some as she watches the archbishop knelt on the bed disrobe, pulling her gown overhead and tossing it unceremoniously to the foot of the bed. Her breathing quickens as Rhea then returns full attention to her, hands now working to unfasten and remove her bottoms. She turns her head to the side and throws an arm across her face as Rhea urges her to lift her hips.

Rhea's skin has grown no warmer she discovers as the archbishop takes her in hand. The contrast in body heat is startling and the feel of that slender cold hand around her febrile self makes her keen. And Rhea laughs.

"Different in so many ways yet so much the same."

It does not feel bad what Rhea does to her, but in the end, there is a pang of something deeper than physical within her. Laying there in the aftermath of whatever the two of them had done, she rubs her hand over her belly, as if doing so will somehow allow her to identify this feeling.

"I couldn't control myself."

Although spoken aloud, Rhea does not say this to her. The archbishop does not apologize for those untoward actions; Rhea does not seek her forgiveness. And she will surely offer none now that it has been cemented in her mind that her mother is indeed dead. And it is then that she recognizes the emotion welling up inside of her for what it is. Resentment.

As this negative emotion gathers at the pit of her stomach, she turns her head to the archbishop, ready to impart words that will hopefully deliver the same hurt she feels now. She does not have the opportunity to do this however.

Humming a song somehow both new to her ears yet unbelievably familiar, Rhea pulls her close. Cradled to the archbishop's bosom while her hair is stroked, she feels once more an affection she had never known until coming to Garreg Mach and meeting Rhea. How can she resent Rhea for stealing from her a mother's love when she ought to have never received it in the first place? She cannot.

Byleth holds Rhea fast with her ear pressed to her breast, simultaneously listening to the rhythmic beating of her heart and the sound of her humming. This may not be a mother's love, but she'll take what she can get.

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe it's just because I'm a fucking moron, but during my first playthrough I legitimately thought there was a chance Rhea might be Byleth's mother. Had this whole headcanon going that Jeralt took their kid and ghosted because Rhea was insane (which she kinda is), but then we get to see the grave in Chapter 5 and that idea got fucking sniped out of the air.
> 
> I hate the way Divine Pulse is handled in the narrative of the game. Decent enough game mechanic but an oversight when trying to explain why Byleth doesn't just spam it constantly and fuck over all of his/her enemies. Hopefully, it makes sense here.


End file.
